Mrs. Carmen Tudela Cone

Carmen Tudela Cone, 83, formerly of Albany, died December 8, 2014 of complications from cancer of the appendix. She lived for the past year in assisted living at Benton House in Douglasville, GA. Carmen was born in Tampa, FL and grew up in the Spanish-speaking Cuban-American neighborhood of Ybor City. Her grandparents immigrated to Tampa from Cuba in the late 1800's to work in the cigar industry, and her parents, Maria Luisa and Aurelio Tudela, also worked in cigar-making. Carmen attended Hillsborough High School, where she was a superb student, winning many academic awards for her writing. While still in high school, Carmen met Gordon William "Dub" Cone while working part-time in the local shoe store he managed. They married in 1949 and moved to Memphis, TN where Carmen completed high school. The couple eventually moved in 1954 to Albany, where Dub managed Barfield's Shoes for 20 years and later owned and operated his own shoe stores, including Carmen's Fine Footwear. Carmen played an active role in merchandising and buying for the Albany shoe stores. Always interested in academic pursuits, the opening of Darton College (then called Albany Junior College) prompted Carmen to follow her dream of obtaining a college education. She began full-time studies in 1966, received her AA degree in 1968, and then transferred to Georgia Southwestern College where she received a BA degree in 1970 with a GPA of 4.0 and a double major in English literature and Spanish. She taught Spanish and English school in Albany for many years, first at Monroe High School, then at Westover High School, and finally at Riverview Academy. Outside the classroom, Carmen enjoyed cooking, flower gardening, and backyard bird watching. She loved to dance, and she and Dub were often seen on the dance floors of local dinner clubs in Albany. Carmen also loved the beach; she and Dub enjoyed many years of fishing, boating and beachcombing at their vacation home in Destin, FL. Preceded in death by her husband Dub who died in 2004, Carmen is survived by her daughter, Karen Cone and her partner Becky Snider of Silver Spring, MD; her son, Neal Cone and his wife Gail of Douglasville, GA; her grandchildren, Lance Cone and his wife Kim and their children Davis and Katelyn of Cumming, GA, Blake Cone and his wife Brittany of Kennesaw, GA, and Anna Cone of Baltimore, MD; and several cousins, including Sylvia Bath Buttram of Tampa, FL. The family will receive friends in Albany on Saturday, December 13 from 11:00 AM to 12:45 PM at Kimbrell-Stern Funeral Home. A graveside service will be held at 1 PM at Crown Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to the American Cancer Society (www.cancer.org).

Mrs. Carmen Tudela Cone

August 3, 1931 - December 8, 2014